Mary Circle of First Christian Church met Jan. 17 at the church hosted by Barb Lightner. Thirteen members were present.

President Pat Fils called the meeting to order with the Disciple Women’s prayer.

The secretary’s report was read and approved.

Margaret Wilkins gave the treasurer’s report with $850.59 for donations and gifts for the church staff for Christmas. Report was approved.

Old business was discussed, which was the circle goal.

There was no new business.

Rhonda Vogel gave the lesson on Delilah from “Bad Girls of the Bible.” After the discussion from the lesson, Fils closed the meeting.

The next meeting will be Feb. 21 at the church with Joyce Burkhead as hostess.

Catholic Daughters

Catholic Daughters of the Americas met in the parish hall after Mass celebrated by the Rev. Ken Halbur.

The evening started off pizza, salad and dessert.

Regent Betty Baker led the group in prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Minutes were read, Kathy Tapkin made a motion to approve the minutes, and it was seconded by Retta Ripperger.

The treasurer’s report was read, Lois Nelson made a motion to approve the report, and it was seconded by Arlene Carlson. No outstanding bills were presented.

Discussion was made regarding the bake sale that was held at Bunn. Discussion was held on what time to hold the sale and whether to advertise with signs. These ideas were tabled until a later date.

June Huewe is joining the organization.

A thank you was read by Halbur for thinking of him at Christmas time.

Betty extended a thank you to Retta for conducting the meeting last month in her absence.

The 50th Biennial State Convention for Iowa will be April 10-21 in Fort Dodge. At least three delegates need to attend this convention. Betty, Pat and Theresa were named to be the delegates to go to the convention. Kathy Tapkin made a motion to accept these names, and Sharon Skarda seconded it. It was approved. Jean Miller and Retta Ripperger will be alternates.

The meeting was adjourned.

The half and half was won by Jean Miller.

The charity cup contained $8.55.

Next month is a pot luck supper with the DCCW ladies. This will be Feb. 12.

The closing prayer was led by Betty and then gave a reading titled “I’m Fine.”

A video titled “Standing Strong” was then presented for all to watch. This was in regard to everyone coming together to rebuild the hospital after it was destroyed by the April 14 tornado.

The printed program for 2013 was distributed and reviewed. The treasurer collected dues. Marilyn Ralls reported the popular websites for Ancestry and Heritage Quest are no longer available at the library and at many other southwest Iowa libraries because of changes in state funding.

Terry Madison of the library staff demonstrated use of the newer microfilm reader-printer, and the various features including cropping and emailing. She noted the older reader-printer is still available and useful for certain needs.

Dorothy Eyberg gave the five-minute tidbit about grave markers used in the early 1900s to indicate a person’s membership in Modern Woodmen of America, Woodmen of the World and Royal Neighbors auxiliary.

The Feb. 25 program topic is “Case File Clues Webinar” by Roger Nurnberg.

TOPS 1338

TOPS 1338 met 5 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Methodist Church. Nine members recited the TOPS pledge. There was a tie between Diana Loomis and Darlene Rohrig for the weekly best loser. There was also a tie for runner up between Monica Belew and Marisue Lewis.

The business meeting was conducted by Loomis. Minutes were read and the treasurer’s report given and approved. Squares were won by Lewis. No fines were assigned since Jan. 14’s meeting had been a no-gain meeting.

The new contest will be a bag of 10 beans given to each member. With a loss, the member will be able to place a bean in the “pot.” The first person to empty her sack will be the winner.

Neoma Davis gave the program based on “Bye, Bye Wheat Belly” by William Davis, M.D. New varieties of wheat are blamed for weight gain, causes of ciliac disease, and spikes in blood sugar.

The Red Can Challenge is to eat meals at the table for three days this week. The TOPS closing pledge concluded the meeting.

IOWA TOPS 1338 met Monday. Best losers for the week were Lola Baucom and Monica Belew. Runner-up was Alice Brown. The monthly best loser was Belew, with a runner-up tie between Darlene Rohrig and Marisue Lewis.

The business meeting was conducted by Diana Loomis. Minutes were read by Lewis, and the treasurer’s report was given by Brown. Squares was won by an anonymous member and fines were assigned to Belew.

The Red Can Challenge is to use popcorn or pretzels as snacks for the week. Also, each member is asked to bring five new suggestions for the Red Can Challenge.

Lewis gave the program based on “Know why beans just got even better.”

Next week’s meeting will be a “NO GAIN WEEK” with anyone gaining having to pay a double fine. The meeting closed with the TOPS closing pledge.

Anyone looking for encouragement in weight loss is invited to attend a TOPS meeting. TOPS meets each Monday at 5 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

Bancroft History Assembly

Bancroft History Assembly met Jan. 21 at the D.V. Richardson room at Greater Regional Medical Center. Eleven regular members and three life members were in attendance. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Leone Purdum, because of the absence of the president, conducted the business meeting.

The roll call question was: “Did you ever make a New Year’s resolution that you kept?”A unanimous answer was “no.”

The thought for the day was “Don’t worry about knowing people; just make yourself worth knowing.”

The minutes from December were read and approved. Avis Hainline gave the treasurer’s report.

Ruth Long was asked to read her award-winning short story. Her entry “Diagnosis: Cancer” won first place over 1,200 entries. Her prize is a publication package, whichshe intends to use after she has written her book.

Members brought baby items for the RICC to the meeting. Martha Musmaker agreed to deliver them.

For the February meeting, members were asked to bring personal care products. That meeting will be 12:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at the home of Kay Ritter.

The club collect was given to conclude the business meeting.

Sandy Oswald gave her report on Harriet Tubman, a former slave who helped by freeing slaves along the Underground Railroad.

Marilyn Ralls was hostess for the day. Cupcakes, candies, tea and coffee were served.

Kiwanis

The weekly Kiwanis meeting was held 12:05 p.m. Tuesday at The Windrow with 28 members and three guests. President Brad Lorenzen presided, Jim Morris gave the prayer, and Ellen Gerhartz was finemaster.

The program was Kevin Fifel, owner of Covered Bridges Winery in Winterset. He discussed the history of the Iowa wineries for the last 12 years and the tours available.

Michelle Powers thanked the club for sponsoring her trip to state and national HOBY conference last year and discussed the Creston High School student government fundraiser of selling Yubands to raise money for three underprivileged students in other countries this week and next.

The club decided on 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 26 for this year’s pancake day fundraiser to be held at the United Methodist Church, 400 N. Elm St. This is the club’s largest solo fundraiser of the year.